


Holiday Stories

by shieldivarius



Series: Femslash Yuletide 2013 [16]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash Yuletide, Fluff, Prompt: Holiday Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-19
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-06 05:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shieldivarius/pseuds/shieldivarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Melinda definitely didn't have a favourite Christmas special (but she might now).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holiday Stories

“Come on! The Grinch is, hands down, the best Christmas special around. Animated beats live action, but hey, it’s a close runner-up.”

“No, no. Absolutely not. Every year there’s a Doctor Who Christmas Special and—”

“But that’s not a _classic_. It’s new, every year!”

“Doctor Who is a classic! Do you hear her? She said Doctor Who isn’t a classic!”

Melinda slipped from the room to massage her temples in the privacy of the cockpit, checked their position on the map and prayed for a tailwind to speed them to their destination. The shouted, bickering debate travelled to her ears through the door, reduced to angry muffled noise but still audible and grating.

She neither knew nor cared to know what had started Fitz and Skye’s argument over the best Christmas special. She didn’t ever care if they wanted to waste time and energy having an argument where neither side’s opinion was likely to change.

If they could be quieter about it, though, or have the inane argument somewhere else on the Bus—like in the cargo hold, she wouldn’t mind if they were in the cargo hold—she’d have cared about it even less.

The cockpit door opened behind her and Melinda held back her sigh at the argument following her in.

“I gather you don’t have a favourite Christmas special?” Coulson asked.

Melinda, having just settled in the pilot’s seat, flipped the autopilot over to manual and ignored him.

“I’m partial to Rudolph, myself. The old stop-motion one with the Bumble and the Island of Misfit Toys.”

She rolled her eyes. Coulson, who normally took the hint, sat down in the co-pilot’s seat instead of leaving. She glanced far enough over to make sure he didn’t have his hands anywhere near the controls before refocusing on the sky ahead.

“I’ll bet Natasha hasn’t seen that one. Or any of them, really. I mean, I guess Barton might’ve shown her something, but I don’t think it’s much of his thing.”

Melinda sighed and took the bait, even if his even mentioning Natasha on this plane was reason enough to ignore him further. “I haven’t seen it.”

“You should look it up, when we get back to New York. _That_ is a true classic.”

He left before she could give herself a headache from rolling her eyes too far back.

 

Coulson knew people. His entire damn job in S.H.I.E.L.D. required careful study of the people under him, and of those people, Barton and Romanoff were some of the most important.

So as much as she didn’t care to take unsolicited relationship advice from anyone, Melinda looked up the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special he’d mentioned when she was back at home. The runtime was short, at least, so if watching it ended up being an entirely terrible idea, they wouldn’t have lost much to it.

She didn’t pre-screen it. She and Natasha could watch it together.

 

“What’s going on?” Natasha asked when she arrived at the apartment. There was a little crease to her brow, and her gaze flickered up and down Melinda’s body. When they embraced, her hands swept across and down Melinda’s back before she pulled her close.

“I’m not hurt,” Melinda said. “It’s nothing like that. I thought we could have a night in.” she held up the flash drive with Rudolph loaded on it in her hand, though they were standing nose-to-nose.

Natasha’s expression turned guarded, even a little wary—or was that sceptical? “It isn’t Die Hard, is it?” she asked.

“…No,” Melinda assured her after a beat. Natasha relaxed against her. “Die Hard?” she asked.

“I’ve had to suffer sitting through that movie twice already this month.”

Melinda kissed her forehead, as much in sympathy as to hide the amused smile quirking the corners of her lips.

“This is a recommendation from my new team. I haven’t seen it, though, so I can’t promise anything.”

“I’m open to it,” Natasha said. 

With mugs of warm mulled wine in hand they sat down together on the couch and Melinda started the cartoon.

Forty-seven minutes later, the credits rolled on the pair of them curled up and pressed against each other, legs braided together, Natasha with her head on Melinda’s chest and Melinda with her cheek resting against Natasha’s hair in turn.

“That was sweet,” Natasha said when Melinda reached forward to turn it off.

“Better than Die Hard?”

“Much.”

Melinda laughed, nodding in agreement.

**Author's Note:**

> http://shieldivarius.tumblr.com


End file.
